While pedestals and hand holes have been used in the telecommunications field, Fiber to the Premises (“FTTP”) has not (to the knowledge of the inventors and as of the filing of the Related Applications) been implemented from a central office (“CO”) or digital subscriber line multiple access (“DSLAM”) to customer premises via apical conduit systems that are at least in part set within roadway surfaces. Further, such pedestal and hand hole systems have not been implemented from the CO or DSLAM to a fiber distribution hub (“FDH”) in a block or neighborhood of customer premises, and subsequently distributed to network interface devices (“NIDs”) or optical network terminals (“ONTs”) via network access points (“NAPs”), hand holes, ground-based conduits, and/or the like, using the aforementioned apical conduit systems.
Rather, currently available systems for broadband voice, data, and/or video access within customer premises (whether through wired or wireless connection) typically require a physical cable connection (either via optical fiber connection or copper cable connection, or the like) directly to network access devices or optical network terminals located at (and in most cases, mounted on an exterior wall of) the customer premises, or require satellite transmission of voice, data, and/or video signals to a corresponding dish mounted on the customer premises. Many of these broadband access architectures rely on aerial or buried techniques that do not utilize the potential (both in terms of cost, efficiency, flexibility, system strength and reliability, minimal ecological impact, visual unobstructiveness, and/or the like) of micro-trenching or similar techniques applicable to apical conduit systems. Thus, such systems are costly, difficult to implement, and difficult to repair when damaged.
Further, very little currently exists in terms of antennas in road structures (or in the ground in general). The importance of road milling and re-pavement with respect to antennas in road structures is non-existence.
Hence, there is a need for more robust and scalable solutions for implementing FTTx, including FTTH, FTTB, FTTP, FTTN, FTTC, and/or the like.